Birth Roots

My husband and I took a prenatal class with Deanna about 2 months prior to our due date. It was an excellent experience and prepared us for a birth in a way we wouldn't have known to ask for. We had planned to be at home or the birth centre, but our daughter joined us six weeks early and so we needed to be in the hospital. As we interacted with hospital staff I felt that I had agency to make decisions, largely because I understood the medical terminology and had been exposed to numerous different scenarios in our class. Deanna's preparation gave me language, gave me questions to ask at different stages of the process, gave me confidence that my body could do it, and helped me be flexible through the birth experience. She taught us that in situations that aren't going as hoped or expected, choose the next best thing for yourself and your baby, and to let go of the things that you cannot have. We are SO grateful for our experience at Birth Roots and highly recommend the prenatal class!

My husband and I took the 4 hour private prenatal class with Jennifer and we both agree that the class definitely prepared us for labour and delivery. She is extremely knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. We went into hospital without any apprehension and we weren't confused when offered various options to help with the labour and delivery... thanks to this class. I would 100% recommend it.

Took a 4 week prenatal Class with Jenn Fontaine, and it was pretty great. She has a great, infectious personality. Didn't really preach anything to us, and answered any questions we had. The class presented a lot of information and went over a lot of things that can happen before, during, and after birth, and what the best ways to deal with these would be, or at least got our minds thinking about them, and presented information and ideas we did not know of before. Lots of great information, this gave us a much better sense of what was coming and got us discussing and thinking.

I had the pleasure of having Deanna Montchilov of Birth Roots assist me with my second son’s birth in 2005. Deanna was highly recommended to me by my cousin as I had expressed concern to her about the lack of emotional and physical support by hospital staff during the birth of my first son 3 yrs earlier. Additionally I was trying to avoid another C-section and wanted to ensure that I received the best possible chances of a safe vaginal delivery. Deanna was very attentive to my needs and questions during the pregnancy. Although I had read many pre-natal and delivery books during my first pregnancy, I still had some concerns the second time around. Deanna made me feel at ease and gave me helpful information to make informed decisions. I found her to be very patient and knowledgeable It was very comforting to know that Deanna was just a phone call away. She quickly became a friend and confident throughout the pregnancy. The big day soon arrived and I believe that Deanna’s presence was instrumental in ensuring that an unnecessary C-section was avoided. She asked the right questions and ensured that I understood all the medical lingo that was used by hospital staff around me. Additionally she suggested various positions to use to ease the pain during contractions. The birthing process took a long time and without Deanna’s support and encouragement I am positive that the nurses and doctors would have resorted to another C-section or I simply would have opted for a C-section in the end out of frustration or sensing a lack of options. Deanna wrote a beautiful letter to my son sharing the story of his birth. I was truly impressed by this. What a treasure! Deanna remains a friend to this day and I am so happy our paths in life crossed. Thank you Deanna.

As a midwife, I know that childbirth education is essential in preparing for birth, breastfeeding and the new transition of life with a baby. Supportive care in labour makes women feel safe and aids in labour progress. Normal birth is the goal of health care practioners and families in an effort to have the safest outcomes for the mother and baby. Birthroots Doula Collective provides women and couples with a normal birth perspective while being informative of the possibility of complications. Women and couples who go to Birthroots for prenatal classes and doula support feel prepared and confident to enter the journey of labour, birth and life with a new baby.